Representing "too small to see" as "too small to see" with temporal representation

Abstract

Teaching and learning the vast range of the sizes of the objects that are too small to see with human eyes (called imperceptible objects) has been a challenging issue in education. Because is the only medium that learners can use to make sense of imperceptible phenomena, learners encounter challenges when trying to understand the range of imperceptible sizes. However, the conventional visual representations that are incorporated in many learning technologies tend to direct learners to overestimate the sizes of imperceptible objects. To address this issue, we designed a multimodal called temporal-aural-visual representation (or TAVR) to provide students with an alternative way of perceiving and conceptualizing imperceptible sizes. In prior studies it was noticed that learners constructed more refined mental models of the vast range of imperceptible sizes through the TAVR-enhanced learning activity. In this paper, we introduce a recent study that explored how to best augment the temporal experience of the range of imperceptible sizes with supporting modalities.